Wide Awake
by Cyndi
Summary: Barriers fall as Odo and Kira consummate their love for the first time.


Note: This takes place immediately after the episode _Chimera_ and makes mention of events in my fic _For Freedom's Sake_.

.o

.o

**Wide Awake**

.o

_"Close your eyes.  
Just feel and realize-  
it is real and not a dream.  
I'm in you and you're in me."_

- Enigma, "Beyond the Invisible"

.o

.o

"I want to know you. The way you really are."

Those words led to the living luminescence surrounding Kira Nerys. Her fingers trailed through the diaphanous mist as it swirled and congealed into the familiar form of Odo. He embraced her from behind, his warmth comforting against her back.

"Nerys." His breath, or what passed for it, quivered in her ear. "Now you know how different we are."

Kira closed her eyes. She knew Odo's face by memory. His slicked back hair, his too-straight nose, the thin approximation of a mouth and those penetrating blue eyes. She remembered the first time he sat down at her table during the Occupation. He reminded her of a scarecrow, built tall and lean with long fingers. His unfinished features were hard to read. Facial expressions weren't something he wholly mastered, but his eyes, deep and sad, never left her memory.

Odo wasn't attractive in a conventional sense. There was something _about_ him, something beyond the physical- why couldn't she see it before?

"That doesn't matter to me, Odo." Kira told him. "You're beautiful...and I'm sorry for not seeing it sooner."

"You were involved with someone else." He talked quietly, his voice low and gravelly. So distinctive- and dare she consider it- seductive. "I never wanted to come between you and Shakaar...or our friendship."

Smiling, she petted his fingers. Noble Odo, so sweet under his gruff exterior and always putting her first...

Kira said, "I still want you to be my friend. That doesn't have to change."

"I can do that." His lips brushed her ear. "But you have to be mine, too."

Giggling, she replied, "Deal."

And what a friendship they had. They told each other secrets almost no one else knew. Especially two years ago, when Odo dropped the bombshell that he was pregnant. It happened after a dying baby Changeling absorbed itself into his skin, restoring his shape shifting abilities as it took root in his chest, and through a twist of fate he became its new progenitor. He requested secrecy because he feared the Founders taking the baby away. She still remembered the name he chose: _Kejal_, the Bajoran word for freedom.

And to be honest...Odo acted downright _cute_ during his pregnancy! More than once she walked into his office to find him reading his security reports out loud. He talked to the baby and reacted to its movements inside his chest. His body never changed its outward appearance, but Kira swore his face _glowed_.

Long before his suspected due date, he inquired about the Bajoran way of birthing. Then he went into labor the same day he sprang a sting operation he'd been sitting on for nearly a week. Kira would never know how he managed to charge into the cargo bay and make the arrest while having the Changeling equivalent to contractions. He was in considerable pain by the time he admitted his condition. When he said he couldn't resist it anymore and she saw him fighting his body, the maternal part of her still aching for Kirayoshi took over. He was scared, hurting and needed to feel safe. She held him close to her chest and helped him relax into the Bajoran birth trance. All the agony of his labor disappeared like magic.

"Is something on your mind?" Odo asked.

Glancing up, Kira allowed herself a slight smile. "I'm thinking about Kejal. How do you think he's doing? Oh..." She chuckled self-consciously, "I still can't seem to call Kejal an 'it.'"

Odo's lips tilted into a half-smile. "I don't mind if you want to call Kejal a 'he' until we know otherwise."

"Mm. How do you think he's doing?"

His eyes drifted shut. "Most likely, right now, he'll have a humanoid form as developed as mine, and be able to walk, talk and interact with people." He gave her shoulders a squeeze. "I trust Doctor Mora to educate Kejal to the best of his ability."

"I'm glad you two resolved everything. I think he needs Kejal in his life right now."

"So do I. But...will I always long to hold my child, Nerys?"

Kira leaned back against Odo. Odo looked down at her in complete and utter love, just like he did while having Kejal. She flashed back again to the sacred moment he brought his offspring into the world. His thrown-back head, the trembling in his whole body and the expression of surrender on his face as Kejal emerged without a struggle. She couldn't stop wondering if giving birth felt as powerful to him as it did to her.

Later, she stood beside him when he handed his hours-old newborn over to Doctor Mora for safekeeping on Bajor. He concealed Kejal in a cremation urn for transport. Doctor Mora promised he would raise Odo's child like his own, away from experiments and tests. The expression on Odo's face after the transport shuttle left would make any mother weep. Giving that baby up cut into his soul. He did it keep Kejal safe from the Dominion and to give it a better start at life than he had, but it meant a complete separation. A pain Kira herself understood far too well. She couldn't look at Odo without seeing Kejal in his eyes.

"Yeah." Kira breathed in. "Kirayoshi wasn't even mine, and I miss him. You learn to bear it, but it never goes away."

His hands dropped lower, cupping her belly. She covered them with her own. They were both empty of the children they carried.

"Odo." Kira said.

Odo kissed the soft skin behind her ear. "Yes, Nerys?"

"It's time." Goosebumps broke out on her neck. "Love me. Right now."

His hands flinched, though he tried his best not to. She felt the tension work its way up his arms. He literally stopped breathing.

Kira turned, wanting to see his expression. Odo looked like someone facing a firing squad. She linked her fingers behind the back of his neck. "Talk to me, Odo. What is it?"

He remembered to breathe again. "P-please...don't mistake my hesitation for a rejection. I..." He was cute when he got nervous. "I don't want to disappoint you...or scare you..."

"Scare me?" She arched a brow.

"When I had sex with Arissa...she said she couldn't tell the difference between me and a humanoid. She knew about my being a Changeling, and I showed her a taste of what the Great Link is like, but she wasn't _you_."

Kira quieted Odo by gently touching his mouth. "And you're afraid shape shifting during sex will scare me away?"

His face pulled, and he drew a shaky breath. All the answer she needed.

"I have news for you, Odo." She said. "It won't."

"Nerys..."

Smiling, Kira reached for the zipper on his shirt. When she touched it, the garment glistened and melted into a bare, hairless torso not much different than an ordinary man. She'd forgotten his clothing was part of him.

"That must be convenient," she whispered. Then, giggling, she led his hand through the act of unzipping her red uniform and pulled her arms from its sleeves. "There's only one rule tonight."

Odo paused.

Kira held his gaze. "Don't hide anything."

He nodded his head. "I promise."

The top half of her uniform sagged at her waist like a fruit peel. She felt Odo's eyes on her when she removed her boots and pulled the rest of her jumpsuit off. As she stood there in her underwear, she realized too late that she hadn't shaved her legs in at least a week, her belly never quite firmed up since giving birth to Kirayoshi, and the underpants she chose that day were her most figure-unflattering gray jockey shorts. Her backside probably looked bigger than an asteroid. But the way Odo watched her undress made her own insecurities seem trivial. He clearly didn't care about her unsexy underwear and imperfect body.

Kira reached for her strapless bra.

"Wait." Odo stepped forward. "There is something I've always wanted to try."

She eyed him coyly. "And what is that?"

His lips quirked. "Doctor Bashir said it takes a skilled man to unhook a woman's brassier in one motion. He never mastered it. May I try my luck on yours?"

"Mm, be my guest."

Odo reached around, gave his hand a twist and Kira felt her bra slip off. He held it up like a magician who just performed a trick. "Well, what do you know?"

Impressed, Kira snatched her bra back and tossed it on top of her discarded uniform. She didn't miss how Odo kept his eyes focused on hers despite her exposed breasts. "Did you shape shift into one to figure that out?"

"Uhhh..."

"You did!"

"...yes."

"You're a very naughty Constable." Kira grinned.

"Not quite." Odo's bravado finally caught hold. "But I'm about to be."

"What are- " She arched against the fingers boldly touching her through her underwear. They were already damp in the gusset. " -oh..."

"I'm glad to see you're anticipating me." He purred. With one slick motion he slipped her underpants down, leaving nothing between them.

Kira's mind reeled. Odo embraced her from behind once more. She realized he did away with the rest of his uniform while she wasn't looking. His whole body felt smooth and hot against her back.

"Well...now we're naked," Kira said, blushing.

"I like what I see." He rumbled in her ear. "So...what type of foreplay do you prefer, hm?"

The burning in her cheeks spread to her forehead. "Mm...my neck is pretty sensitive..."

His lips traced the pulse on her throat. "Like this, Nerys?"

Tingles raced right to her ear. She shivered, "Yes...and um, don't laugh...but, I really like it when people nibble on my ears."

"Why would I laugh?" Odo nipped the top of her ear and sucked on her earlobe, and her breathing deepened. He had an _amazing_ mouth.

"And w-what you're doing with your hands...k-keep that up," Kira went on, closing her eyes. His hands traced mesmerizing patterns along her sides. Their names in Bajoran script. They flowed nicely together.

"What about you, Odo?" She reached back and grasped his hips. "What's it like for a Changeling?"

"I can mimic arousal, but I don't feel it the same way you do." Odo kissed the top of her head. "Your touch alone makes me desire you, Nerys. It doesn't matter where."

At that, Kira turned around to face him. His eyes met hers in complete sincerity.

"How?"

He smiled. She wished he'd do it more often, it was cute.

"I can vary my sense of touch on an as-needed basis. You...make me lose control of it. I become hyper aware of _you_. Even the vibrations from your footsteps go right through me." If Changelings could blush, he would have then. He ducked his head. "You're the only person who has that effect on me."

Somehow, the very idea made her pelvic muscles twitch. She thought about all the times she felt his skin or uniform quiver when she touched him. Now she knew why.

Kira cupped Odo's cheeks in her palms. His skin felt as smooth as an infant's without blemishes or scars. Nothing tangible to mark his life. She rubbed her thumbs across the thin line making up his mouth. Odo closed his eyes and sighed blissfully.

"What if I..." Kira leaned forward and kissed her way along his approximated collarbones. "Tell me how that feels."

"Mmh." Odo's hands clutched her shoulders, pulling her closer against him. She worked her way up his throat to nip at his ear. He gasped and turned his head, kissing her hard. "Feels nice...you have soft lips."

"You too," Kira blurted out. She grinned. Why did she feel like a silly, blushing virgin? "Odo, I'd like to ask you something."

"Of course."

"Do Changelings- do you have orgasms?"

"Yes."

"How do they- "

"I, ah..." Odo fidgeted with the curve of her thumb. "I-I've only experienced it a few times...while linking, and when I had Kejal."

Kira sensed him shrinking back. She tugged his hands, keeping him close. "I'm not asking about your previous experiences, Odo. I'm only asking about the feeling itself. Can you describe it?"

"Oh. Of course. Yes. All right." His flesh trembled under her palms. He made noises like clearing his throat. "I...can't achieve the sensation unless I'm comfortable with the other person or the situation. It starts as a warm tingling at the point of contact. Ah, what can I compare it to? When I was humanoid and stood up too fast for my blood pressure to compensate, my vision darkened and my body tingled...it's _that_ kind of sensation. I feel lighter and lighter until the tingle crashes through my whole being like ocean waves and I have trouble holding my shape. If I'm in my gelatinous state, you can actually see the waves. It's a very pleasant feeling. Very relaxing. When two Changelings link, the sensation can last for _hours_." He nibbled her earlobe. "How about you? Tell me about yours."

Turnabout was fair play. Kira took a deep breath, trying to find the proper words. Not an easy feat with him tugging at her ear. "F-For starters, I need to be comfortable too, and a man has to touch me just right or it won't happen. When I'm starting to have it, I feel something here." She indicated her nether regions. "It's sort of itchy...if you ever sat the wrong way for too long and your leg went numb, suddenly you can't stand to move it because your muscles just _itch_- you too? That's the feeling for me. When I have a strong one, my joints lock up and I get light-headed. I don't take long to have one if I'm with a man who knows what he's doing. They don't last hours, but...a really good one feels like it does." Ducking her head, she smiled. "Heh, we get there in different ways, but the feeling itself isn't all that different, is it?"

Odo let his brow rest against hers. "I suppose not."

"I'm sure a lot of women are curious about how you have sex." Kira slipped her arms around his waist and grabbed his firm backside. "Can you blame them?"

He scoffed, faking offense. "Not really...but I prefer to keep them guessing."

"I have no plans to tell anyone." She giggled as his hands kneaded her shoulders. "And Ezri owes me a strip of latinum."

"Why?"

Kira shook her head. "We had this stupid bet going about your butt." She gave his another squeeze. "It's firm. I win."

"Really?" Now Odo had a wicked gleam in his eyes. "But I can make it as firm or as soft as I want."

Kira sniffed in mock annoyance. "I win _this_ time."

Odo smiled and kissed her cheek. "Perhaps I should tell her to 'butt' out."

Jokes from Odo were rarer than Quark doing honest business. Kira laughed and buried her face in his neck. She liked this unguarded, playful side of him.

"Yeah, you should." She snickered.

Odo nodded, clearing his throat again. "I'm a little scared, Nerys."

She eyed him. Odo never seemed afraid of anything. Cracking another smile, she said, "The first time with someone new is always the hardest."

"It's not that." He shook his head. "I've loved you for so long in secret. You might have gone on not knowing if not for my Gaia counterpart." His voice shrank to a whisper. "My people can live for centuries. I can't imagine my life without you in it. I'm afraid of the last goodbye...of seeing you on your- "

"Shhh." She brushed her lips against his. "That's a long way off."

"But it's still _there_."

"It could be tomorrow for either of us, too. You can't live if all you think about is dying," she said, tracing the approximated tendons under the skin on his throat. "Let's make every day our best day, and don't worry about the future."

Odo slipped his arm around her waist and took her free hand. He leaned forward, guiding her in a slow waltz. Her heartbeat provided the rhythm. Who knew he could be so graceful?

"I can do that," he said. "Any time we argue, we'll make up before we retire for the night."

Content, she let him sweep her halfway across the room. "And we'll say 'I love you' to each other as often as possible."

Odo dipped her. "And if we do end up saying goodbye, it won't be with sadness or regret."

"Agreed. No regrets."

Kira slipped free of Odo's grasp and led him to her bed. She stretched out on the blankets, giving him an eyeful of her naked form. Odo's gaze became an almost tangible caress roving along her skin.

"You're so beautiful, Nerys." He smiled and stood up straighter. Tall, delicate and unscarred with limbs slightly long in proportion to the rest of him. He appeared otherworldly, an unfinished sculpture, yet _normal_ at the same time. Then she noticed his hands concealing his groin. He saw her puzzled look.

"Um...I never got this part quite right. It was different- made correct- when I was humanoid. I explored it then, but I can't seem to replicate it unless I...oh, damn it. No one has ever seen it. Not even Doctor Mora."

Kira sat up to regard him. "But will you let me?"

"Yes..."

Odo self-consciously moved his hands. There were primitive Bajoran ridges in the right places on his scrotum and his flaccid penis looked like a puckered cone. Upon touching it, Kira realized the foreskin didn't retract. It was all one piece. No wonder he acted so reluctant to show her. He hadn't yet mastered his anatomy's intricacies.

_It doesn't matter. It's Odo's, and it's cute_. Kira smiled, kissed his manhood and ruffled the blond peach fuzz above it. "You're perfect to me, Odo." She shoved the blankets aside. "Come on."

Odo breathed a visible sigh of relief. He slid between the sheets, his full weight denting the mattress until she had nowhere to lay except on top of him. Neither broke eye contact during the maneuver.

They were naked together in the same bed. Years ago, Kira might have scoffed at the idea of being in this moment with Odo. Today, upon seeing the way he looked at her, she wouldn't change it for the world. No regrets.

Odo's gentle gaze penetrated Kira's soul. Beneath her, his chest rose and fell more quickly. He grasped her shoulders, whispering, "I love you, Nerys."

Suddenly, he pulled her down, his lips finding hers in an erotic silken slide, and the kiss on the Promenade paled in comparison. Her entire _body_ felt the years of repressed passion pouring off him. His hands roamed all over her...in her hair, tickling across her shoulder blades and tracing her spine. Her pulse jumped. Everything tingled. She probed past his lips, desperate for closeness. He tilted his head, granting her entry. The inside of his mouth was slicker and warmer than the rest of him, and it tasted sweeter than kava. His smooth tongue swirled around hers again and again, deepening the sensory experience.

"Your mouth is perfect," she said against his lips.

Odo smiled and his eyes twinkled. "May I sample yours again?"

Kira giggled, leaning towards him. His lips and tongue worked in harmony with hers. He knew how to _kiss_ like no other. Wondering what else his tongue could do made her want him more.

Odo's hands went on the move again. They squeezed her butt and caressed her hips. Kira pressed into his touch, her skin hot under his fingers. He lifted his head and kissed the ridges on her nose. She felt him nibble her ear and blow warm air over the fine hairs lining her neck. He raked his fingernails lightly down her back. It tickled and stung and sent delightful shivers up her spine. Finally, he took her right nipple into his talented mouth. He nipped and suckled, sending jolts of electricity straight to her lower pelvis.

"Ah!" Kira gasped, digging her nails into his shoulders.

He startled, pulling back. "Did I hurt you?"

"No...I'll tell you if something hurts. K-Keep going, you're doing fine."

Nodding, Odo resumed, his tongue and teeth flinging her desire to new heights. He moved to the other side while mumbling something cute about the left nipple getting jealous. Kira moaned and tangled her fingers in his hair to keep him there. Everything he did was so careful, practiced and loving.

His lips found their way to the hollow between her collarbones. His breath caressed her chest and his teeth scraped her throat. Goosebumps appeared on her skin. Her eyelids fluttered from the sensuality of it. No one treated her like this, with such reverence...not even Shakaar.

_Come on! He's doing all the touching. Do something!_

Kira reached under the blankets. The limp male organ she saw when Odo got in bed shape shifted into an impressive erection beneath her palm. What an amazing sensation, the fluidity of his form changing like that. She stroked him slowly, noticing his anatomy had 'corrected' itself, and she took delight in hearing his soft gasps against her chest.

"I-I'm extremely sensitized to you right now. If you keep that up..." He caught her wrist, "...I'll finish before we start. Everything I read said that's very rude. Can we...can we talk for a minute while I settle down?"

"Oh! Yes, okay." Kira was thankful for the momentary break. His wonderful onslaught left her shaking and panting. He didn't want to rush...and neither did she.

He kissed her knuckles. "Thank you."

"You're a big boy down there." She settled her hand on his chest, resisting the urge to stroke his perfect skin.

Odo smirked, "I chose the size that reflected my excitement level."

For some reason, that made Kira giggle like a schoolgirl. He desired her _that_ much?

"Well, consider me impressed." She remarked, blushing. "I remember what it was like with Edon. Despite being a loving man, he was terrible in bed."

"Was he?" Odo's wide-eyed expression was priceless.

Kira kissed the end of his nose and straddled his waist. "I told him how I like to be touched. He tried so hard, don't get me wrong, but couldn't get me to finish. Sometimes I acted like I did to spare his feelings. I haven't had good, satisfying sex in so long."

"I see." Odo wrapped his arm around her waist and reversed their position. He dropped his voice low, purring in her ear, "Then I will have to remedy that, won't I?"

Before she could answer, his left hand disappeared under the sheets. She twitched as his fingers slid past her pubic hair. Then they were _there_, caressing and exploring. Everything he did made her writhe. His palm liquefied and vibrated around her groin. Kira's eyes almost rolled back. There wasn't enough air in the world. Her abdominal muscles clenched. Keeping her mouth closed was out of the question. And staying quiet? Forget about it.

She clung to his shoulders and spread her legs, pushing herself harder against him. "Odo...oh...I want you inside me...now!"

Odo propped himself up on one elbow and shot her a seductive look through his eyelashes. Kira stared at him, panting, her face flushed bright red. He brushed his fingertips against her cheek. She moved with his touch. He beamed, his eyes bright.

"I've been dreaming of this moment." Odo ghosted his lips over Kira's. "To see you like this. To _feel_ you like this..." He let her guide his manhood inside her waiting folds, "...t-to- know that you're- " His breath caught as she hooked her legs around his waist and pulled him all the way in. " -_mine_."

Their bodies came together at last. Odo molded himself to the shape of Kira's inner walls, eliminating the last physical distance between them. She reveled in the fullness and felt no hurry to move. They stayed that way for ages: Odo looking down into Kira's eyes in complete adoration, and Kira gazing back with sincere admiration- and a touch of sadness. How long did she make him suffer by being so blind to his feelings towards her?

"I can feel your heartbeat," he said, awed. "You're so warm...so soft...am I dreaming this?"

"No." Kira slipped her arms around his neck. She ran her fingers through his waxy hair, unbothered by its odd texture. Into his ear, she said, "You're wide awake, Odo...and I _love_ you."

"Oh, Nerys...I love you, too." Odo kissed her throat. "So this is what it feels like when a dream comes true."

She cupped his cheek in her palm. "Good things come to those who wait." Leaning closer, she whispered, "Love me like a Changeling."

Odo smiled at that. "All right."

The whole front of his pelvis started shifting, rippling and caressing. Inside, outside...a continuous, turbulent flow like a Jacuzzi jet against her nether regions. Kira groaned and threw her head back. Her lower body convulsed in response to the unfamiliar sensory bombardment.

"Ahh...Odo!"

"Too much?"

"Ah...it's not...it's just different...feels so good..." She could barely talk, but she didn't miss the relief on his face. "W-Was linking l-like this?"

"No...but I can show you." Odo slowed his motions and grasped her hand, interlocking their fingers. "This, Nerys, is how you make me feel."

Kira felt a prickling sensation when his palm liquefied. Suddenly, she became aware of _him_.

Her smile made his day. Her laughter brought him joy. Her friendship eased his insecurities. Her presence gave him peace. His love welled up and swallowed her in its ocean swells. Always moving, powerful and real behind his clear blue eyes. She never knew anybody could love someone as much as he loved her, yet he offered it to her like a pure, selfless prayer without seeking anything in return.

_I love you, Nerys. I've always loved you_.

Did he speak, or did she hear his voice in her mind? Did it matter?

Desperate now, she kissed him hard, trying fervently to let him know his love was reciprocated. She wanted to be the shore his waves crashed into. She wanted to be swept away like sand pulled off the beach by the tide. She wanted to be part of him forever.

His hand released hers, but she could still feel him. His soul surrounded hers as powerfully as his arms. She reached out, blindly, and captured him too.

"Nerys! I- " _I feel you_...

_I don't know how, but it's okay_. "Odo," Kira gasped, caught between bliss and tears. She sensed him fighting for control of his shape. "It's okay...it's okay...I love you." _I love you so much_.

Odo's relief poured into her. His hands and forearms became fluid. Most of his back and lower body liquefied. He glistened like gold under the dim overhead lights.

"You're everything I dreamed." Odo whispered in her ear. _Everything, Nerys...you are my everything_.

Kira plunged her fingers into Odo's rippling back. He growled against her cheek. The sound went straight to the pulsing heat in her belly. She did it again, over and over, excited and fascinated by the response from his jelly-like body.

"If you keep doing that," he gasped, shaking, "I'll..."

"Good," Kira quivered on the edge herself. She sank her fingernails deeper into his liquefied flesh. "Let it happen, Odo." Her nether regions began to throb. "Ahh, _Prophets_, Odo...let it happen!"

Odo did _something_ that stretched her inner walls.

"Oh, don't stop, Odo!"

"I won't."

"Don't stop...ah!"

"Never."

Kira's response folded inward. Every atom of her being shuddered in preparation for the inevitable. Odo extended himself into the space opening inside her body. The pressure sent her abdominal muscles into delightful spasms. Kira gasped and wiggled her fingers in his substance.

"Ahh..." He grimaced, clenching his jaw. His pupils dilated and his eyelids fluttered. "I'm about to- "

She braced herself. "Go ahead!"

"No. Together!" Odo's ripples accelerated. He closed his eyes and surrendered with a hoarse moan, "_Nerys!"_

His strangled voice sent her right into the stratosphere with him. His orgasm became hers, hers dissolved into his and suddenly she couldn't tell their bodies apart anymore. Odo arched backwards with an audible gasp. Kira curled forward, mewling, which made his eyes fly open. Their gazes remained locked as they rode the waves of their simultaneous climax. In a split second she saw Odo's love for her shining like the universe. By the Prophets, he had the most beautiful eyes.

At the end of it, Odo collapsed on Kira's chest in his gelatinous state, his form quivering between her breasts and thighs. Kira flopped back onto the bed, panting. She enjoyed the pleasurable aftershocks caused by Odo's undulations brushing her skin. Perspiration shimmered on her flushed face. Her heart hammered in her chest. She didn't have a single nerve ending that wasn't tingling.

Odo's presence withdrew from Kira's mind. She felt him slowly slip out of her vagina, and already she missed the closeness. He made love to her with his whole being.

_Wow_, Kira thought to herself. She smiled through the tears on her eyelashes and trailed her fingers through Odo's natural form. Odo spread himself out and oozed underneath her until he surrounded her body like a second skin.

_He's holding me_. Kira realized with delight. She still had the freedom of movement to wipe the sweat off her forehead. "That was...wow. Odo, _wow_."

Slowly, the goo became a torso, limbs and a head. His metamorphosis resembled a living sculpture taking shape. When his nose appeared, she had a sudden flashback of newborn Kejal forming a primitive face. Then Odo's familiar visage solidified and the memory slipped back into her mind.

Odo had every right in the universe to look smug after their romp. Except, he didn't. Kira saw only tenderness in his blue eyes.

"What?" she hedged.

Odo smiled softly. "I'm just admiring how lovely you are."

Kira's face warmed. "Was it everything you dreamed?"

He shook his head. "Better."

"You were amazing." She kissed his cheek. "I didn't know you had that in you."

"Neither did I." Odo said, amused. It didn't last long. His face fell. He settled beside her, keeping his arms around her waist. "I'm sorry that I can't give you any children."

"Don't." Kira quieted his doubts. "It is what it is. You're here with me right now. That's all that matters to me. _Us_."

"Us," he whispered back. "Now I understand why humanoids cry with happiness. If I could..."

Kira wiped an imagined tear off his face. "Crying doesn't always need tears."

Odo's expression softened. He drew her close again, nuzzling his cheek against the top of her head. Kira stroked juncture where his pectoral area met his approximated abdominal muscles. No heartbeat met her fingers, but she heard the air rushing in and out as he imitated breathing.

_I love you so much_, she thought. _Everything about you_.

Odo inhaled less and less. Finally, he stopped altogether. Kira sat up to find his eyes closed and his face peaceful. _There's one way you aren't any different than humanoid men. Even you fall asleep after sex_.

Smiling, she smoothed his rumpled hair back into place. She kissed his forehead and the dark curves created by his eyelashes. He looked innocent and vulnerable. A man who endured so much without ever hoping to win her heart- and he ended up winning it anyway. She felt a sudden urge to protect him from everything.

Odo's skin slowly turned shiny as he reverted to his liquid form in his sleep. Kira stretched out on her side and acted like a dam. Just in time to block him from sliding off the mattress. _Not tonight, Constable...tonight, we share this bed together_.

That night, Kira Nerys slept better than she ever did in her life. In the morning, she was kissed awake by a nude Odo. He hooked his leg around hers and rubbed her calf with his heel. She looked at him twice. His tousled hair fell along the sides of his face in complete disarray. He must have mussed it all up just for her.

_Odo with sex hair!_ Kira nearly squealed. She knew hers was messier than his. But seeing prim, orderly Odo in such a _dis_ordered state made her pelvis feel twitchy again.

Odo shot her an amused smirk. "Did you sleep well?"

She captured his smooth, hairless leg between her knees. It wasn't fair- Changelings didn't need to shave. "I did. How about you?"

"I dreamed about you." Odo brushed his fingers across her cheek. "But I like this better."

"Mm." Kira scooted closer to him. "When are you on duty?"

"I have two hours to spare."

"I'm on in three." She smiled, nipping his bottom lip. "Give me ten minutes."

Kira gave him a quick kiss and slipped into the bathroom. After emptying her bladder, combing her hair and cleaning her teeth, she stopped to look at her reflection. She'd forgotten about her makeup. It smeared during the night...and Odo clearly didn't care. Resolute now, Kira washed the artificiality off her face. Without it she looked ordinary, but she felt confident anyway.

She returned to discover a steaming mug of _raktajino_ sitting on the shelf above her bed. Odo, still naked, stared out the window. He stood in his typical "Constable" stance- his posture perfect and his hands folded behind him. She let her eyes follow the contours of mimicked muscles and bone protrusions that never flexed under his skin when he moved. He looked fragile without his uniform. And beautiful...like artwork. Especially his backside. He had a nice butt.

Without a word, Kira embraced Odo from behind. Something in his back trembled at her touch.

"So, how _do_ you learn new shapes?"

"I study it closely. Looking is effective, but being able to touch and explore makes it easier to morph textures more accurately. But, uh...humanoid bodies still pose some difficulty. I'm not an especially experienced Changeling. Not like the Founders." Odo stiffened a little. "I tried to imitate Doctor Mora's head, but the rest of me is based off sculptures and paintings..." He let his shoulders sag. "I don't like how I look in the nude. There are so many details that I can't get quite _right_. It's still obvious that I'm a Changeling."

"Odo." She trailed both her hands down the expanse of his back. "You look fine to me. Turn around."

Odo did what she asked. Kira marveled at the flow of his form. Her eyes shifted downward towards his pelvis. Usually, she thought penises were ugly, wrinkled things, but Odo's wasn't. His male anatomy looked unnatural, yet it was _his_. That alone made it special.

"You're gorgeous." Kira said quietly.

"I haven't seen many females nude," Odo replied, his eyes shimmering with new confidence. "But you strike me as a fine example of one."

Heat rushed into Kira's cheeks. She spared a glance at herself. "I don't know...my breasts are a little saggy and my stomach isn't flat like it used to be. I've still got stretch marks and- "

"And," Odo's hand cupped her belly. "You carried _life_ here, Nerys."

She settled her palm on his suggestion of a sternum. "So did you."

"But _you_ still have the visible reminders. All I have is the memory."

Kira's heart lurched. "Oh, Prophets, Odo, I'm sorry...I'm being a jerk."

He shook his head, smiling. "No. I...I suppose we're our own worst critics when it comes to our bodies. You just taught me that. I think you're beautiful the way you are. I uh...I wish I could have seen you nude during your pregnancy. You look fantastic when you're pregnant."

She giggled. "I don't know about that. I felt fatter than a Borg sphere."

"You were- _are_ -the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life, Nerys, and I'm not saying that just to appease you. It goes beyond your appearance. Your fire, your strength, your courage. Everything about you." Odo's eyes held only sincerity. Then he dropped his gaze to the floor. "And for so long, I didn't think you could love someone like me."

"Odo..." A lump swelled in Kira's throat. Her expression softened into a smile. She kissed his shoulder, his cheek, his nose and finally his lips. "What you are doesn't matter to me. _Who_ you are is what counts. I love you for who you are. And after last night...I can't imagine loving anyone else."

Odo tilted his head and smiled back at her. The genuine joy reached his eyes this time, lighting them up from within.

"Mm. It's oh-eight-hundred...you always like _raktajino_ with two measures of kava at this hour." He kissed her nose ridges. "It should be the right temperature by now."

Leave it to Odo to remember little details like that. He even knew the silliest things, such as how she liked her Bajoran shrimp bathed in butter, or that she could only eat salads with the crispiest lettuce and minimal dressing.

"Ooh, thank you." Kira reached for the mug. Its warmth seeped into her palms just how she liked it. The first hot sip tasted rapturous, but it wasn't better than sex anymore. Nope, sex with Odo definitely won.

"By the way...I noticed you took your makeup off." Odo remarked. He seated himself on her bed and looked up at her. "I love you, Nerys."

Beaming, Kira sat on his lap. "I love you too, Odo." She set the mug aside. "Now, how about an encore of last night?"

Odo's eyes gleamed mischievously. "Can we do it in the sonic shower?"


End file.
